巴克萊及前CEO被控金融危機期間欺詐

Barclays, its former chief executive and three other ex-senior executives have been charged by UK authorities with fraud related to the emergency cash injections that saved the bank from a government bailout at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

巴克萊(Barclays)、該行前首席執(zhí)行官和另外三名前高管被英國當局指控欺詐，涉及2008年金融危機最危急時期拯救了該行、使其無需接受政府紓困的緊急注資。

The Serious Fraud Office case against John Varley marks the first time the head of a global bank has faced criminal charges for activities during the crisis, when big lenders across Europe and the US were being rescued by taxpayers.

英國嚴重欺詐辦公室(SFO)對韋駿賢(John Varley)提起的訴訟標志著，首次有一家全球性銀行的掌門人因為金融危機期間的行為而面臨刑事指控。金融危機期間，歐洲和美國的多家大銀行獲得納稅人資金的拯救。

The SFO charged Barclays yesterday with three counts, including conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and unlawful financial assistance over its arrangements with Qatari investors who ploughed a total of £6.1bn into the bank in June and October 2008.

嚴重欺詐辦公室昨日對巴克萊提出三項指控，包括圍繞該行與卡塔爾投資者的安排通過虛假陳述和非法財務援助合謀實施欺詐;根據這些安排，卡塔爾方面在2008年6月和10月共向該行注資61億英鎊。

The case centres on side deals with the investors, which were part of the cash infusions and not fully disclosed to the market. The fundraisings allowed the bank to remain independent of the ­government at a time when two of its biggest British rivals — Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group — had to accept taxpayer money.

本案焦點是巴克萊與卡塔爾投資者達成的附帶交易，這些交易是注資的一部分，但當時未向市場充分披露。這些籌資活動使該行得以不依靠政府，而當時它的兩大英國競爭對手——蘇格蘭皇家銀行(RBS)和勞埃德銀行集團(Lloyds Banking Group)——不得不接受納稅人資金。

At the time that Barclays received the two investments, it promised to pay Qatari investors £322m for helping it develop business in the Gulf. And in November 2008, Barclays agreed to ­provide a $3bn loan facility to the state of Qatar. The SFO has investigated whether these transactions were intended as undisclosed inducements for the Qataris to invest and whether the loan was secretly reinvested in the bank.

在巴克萊得到兩筆投資的時候，它承諾向卡塔爾投資者支付3.22億英鎊，幫助該行在海灣地區(qū)開展業(yè)務。2008年11月，巴克萊又同意向卡塔爾政府提供30億美元貸款便利。嚴重欺詐辦公室調查了這些交易是否意在作為未披露的誘惑，以爭取卡塔爾方面投資，以及30億美元貸款是否被秘密地再投資于該行。

In addition to Mr Varley, the SFO has charged Roger Jenkins, the rainmaker who put the deals together; Tom Kalaris, the trusted lieutenant of the head of the investment bank; and Richard Boath, who ran its corporate finance business.

除了韋駿賢外，面對嚴重欺詐辦公室刑事指控的還有撮合這些交易的“造雨者”羅杰•詹金斯(Roger Jenkins);投行部門負責人的親信湯姆•卡拉里斯(Tom Kalaris);以及執(zhí)掌巴克萊企業(yè)融資業(yè)務的理查德•博思(Richard Boath)。

The defendants, including Barclays’ parent group, are due in court in London on July 3. Barclays said it was considering its position. “Barclays awaits further details of the charges from the SFO.”

包括巴克萊母公司在內的被告人，將于7月3日在倫敦出庭。巴克萊表示正在考慮其立場。“巴克萊正在等待嚴重欺詐辦公室送達有關這些指控的進一步細節(jié)。”

The case strikes at the heart of ­Barclays’ status as one of the few big British banks to survive the period without government help. “This is the most significant charging decision for the SFO in recent times, if not ever,” said Sarah Wallace of legal firm Irwin Mitchell.

本案直擊巴克萊的地位，即它是少數幾家在沒有獲得政府幫助的情況下挺過金融危機的英國大銀行之一。“這是嚴重欺詐辦公室近年作出的最重大刑事起訴決定，如果不是史上最重大決定的話，”歐文•米切爾律師事務所(Irwin Mitchell)的薩拉•華萊士(Sarah Wallace)表示。

Markets were in turmoil in 2008 when Barclays turned to Qatar. In the second cash call in October — a month after Lehman’s bankruptcy — Barclays tapped investors from the royal families of Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

2008年巴克萊求助于卡塔爾時，市場深陷動蕩。在那年10月——雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)破產一個月后——進行的第二次籌資活動中，巴克萊向卡塔爾和阿布扎比皇室的投資者求助。

Lawyers for Mr Varley and Mr Kalaris declined to comment. Mr Jenkins’ lawyer, Brad Kaufman, said his client would “vigorously defend against these charges”. Mr Boath said he would contest the charge against him “vigorously”.

韋駿賢和卡拉里斯的律師均拒絕置評。詹金斯的律師布拉德•考夫曼(Brad Kaufman)表示，他的客戶將“針對這些指控積極抗辯”。博思表示，他會“積極”抗辯針對他的指控。

Additional reporting by Martin Arnold

馬丁•阿諾德(Martin Arnold)補充報道